Photo Flash: First Look at Charity Readers Theatre's OUR TOWN

Charity Readers Theatre presents OUR TOWN at the Beijing City International School. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the production below!

Pulitzer-Prize winning OUR TOWN is an American stage treasure that presents a timeless commentary on the transience of human existence. The play reveals the ordinary lives of the people in small town America at the turn of the 20thcentury. We follow two families as their children fall in love, marry, and eventually-in one of the most famous scenes in American theatre-die.

The three act play is performed without a set and the actors mime their actions without the use of props. Throughout Wilder uses metatheatrical devices, such as narration by a stage manager.

One performance only: Saturday, November 9, 2013 at 7:30 pm. at the Beijing City International School. Tickets: 50 RMB in advance. Children and students half price. Email the box office at artsforagoodcause@charityreaderstheatre.org. 100 percent of all ticket sales are donated to charity. The beneficiary of this performance of OUR TOWN is Rural Women's Literacy Project.

Charity Readers Theatre, presented by Beijing Playhouse Drama Club, is all about acting. There are almost no costumes, no props, no sets, no lighting design, no sound design, no subtitles. It's all acting. And as it is readers theatre, actors will carry scripts to refer to. Charity Readers Theatre is an artistic process where actors rehearse for only one week. And at the end of that week, we do one performance only. It's a show in a week.

AGES: All Charity Readers Theatre shows are designed for ages six and up. Like all our shows, Our Town is a full two and a half hour show and very young children are not likely to sit still that long. We discourage children under six from attending.

Photo Credit: Cynthia He

Simon Stimson (Francisco Hernandez) leads the choir practice of Blessed be the Tie that Binds in Charity Readers Theatre�s production of Thornton Wilder's Our Town on November 9, 2013. The show, from auditions to the one performance was done in just one week. It was done almost without sets, props, costumes, subtitles, lighting design or sound design. Directed by Chris Verrill. Stage manager Emma Lin. This was the debut Charity Readers Theatre show.

100% of ticket sales were donated to charity. 95 attended. 7,185 RMB was raised for the Rural Women�s Literacy Project. David Peck as the Stage Manager.

David Peck as the Stage Manager shows how Grover�s Corners is laid out.

A cast of 21 actors from 9 different countries performed in this, the debut CRT. This is the wedding scene where George and Emily get married.

George Gibbs (Nathan Paul) sits up in his bedroom and explains the moon to his younger sister Rebecca Gibbs (Tamika Sankar).

Emily Webb (Siying Chen) sits up in her bedroom doing her homework in the house next door.

George (Nathan Paul) gets fatherly advice before his wedding from Dr Gibbs (Peter Williams).

Mrs Gibbs (Ellen Lickman) and Dr Gibbs (Peter Williams) chat about raising their children.

Howie Newsome (Frank Vesanto) delivers the milk to Mrs Webb (Stephanie Anderson).

George (Nathan Paul) gets pre-wedding advice from his soon to be father-in-law Mr Webb (Samuel Turahe).

Sam Craig (Kris Smith) kneels at his aunt�s grave. Joe Stoddard the undertaker (James Taverner) looks on.

Emily (Siying Chen) at her own funeral. Edward Albee said Thornton Wilder�s Our Town is, �Probably the finest play ever written by an American.�

Emily (Siying Chen) realizes she can go back. But she shouldn�t have. Others in the cemetery are Mrs Soames (Sylvia Gunawan), Wilma Webb (Eva Zhao), Mrs Gibbs (Ellen Lickman), Professor Willard (Nicole Payne), Simon Stimson (Francisco Hernandez), Mrs Carter (Linda Liu), and Old Farmer McCarty (Annie Lee). Stage Manager (David Peck) looks on.

Emily (Siying Chen) realizes home is no longer home.

�Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it?�every, every minute?� Emily (Siying Chen) asks the Stage Manager (David Peck). �No,� he replies. �The saints and the poets, maybe�they do some.�

Emily (Siying Chen) says goodbye to the living.

Emily (Siying Chen) talk with her dead mother-in-law Mrs Gibbs (Ellen Lickman) while her own funeral goes on behind her.

Emily (Siying Chen) realizes it�s time to go.

George (Nathan Paul) grieves at Emily�s grave. Wilma Webb (Eva Zhao), Mrs Gibbs (Ellen Lickman), Simon Stimson (Francisco Hernandez), Mrs Carter (Linda Liu), and Old Farmer McCarty (Annie Lee) all died before Emily (Siying Chen).

George (Nathan Paul) in tears at Emily�s grave. Emily (Siying Chen) and Mrs Gibbs (Ellen Lickman) have accepted their journey after life.

Curtain call. The cast of Charity Readers Theatre�s Our Town. Left to right: Lioba Grunow as Woman in Auditorium, Annie Lee as Farmer McCarty, Eva Zhao as Wilma Webb, Kris Smith as Sam Craig, Nicole Payne as Professor Willard, Frank Vesanto as Howie Newsome, Francisco Hernandez as Simon Stimson, Ellen Lickman as Mrs Gibbs, Peter Williams as Dr Gibbs, David Peck as Stage Manager, Siying Chen as Emily Webbs, Natan Paul as George Gibbs, Samuel Turahe as Mr Webb, Stephanie Anderson as Mrs Webb, Sylvia Gunawan as Mrs Soames, Tamika Sankar as Rebecca Gibbs, James Taverner as Joe Stoddard, Annie Cheng as Constable Warren, and Tian Yuke as Joe Crowell.

Curtain call. Charity Readers Theatre, presented by Beijing Playhouse Drama Club (www.beijingplayhouse.com). Left to right: Lioba Grunow as Woman in Auditorium, Annie Lee as Farmer McCarty, Eva Zhao as Wilma Webb, Kris Smith as Sam Craig, Nicole Payne as Professor Willard, Frank Vesanto as Howie Newsome, Francisco Hernandez as Simon Stimson, Ellen Lickman as Mrs Gibbs, Peter Williams as Dr Gibbs, David Peck as Stage Manager, Siying Chen as Emily Webbs, Natan Paul as George Gibbs, Samuel Turahe as Mr Webb, Stephanie Anderson as Mrs Webb, Sylvia Gunawan as Mrs Soames, Tamika Sankar as Rebecca Gibbs, James Taverner as Joe Stoddard, Annie Cheng as Constable Warren, Tian Yuke as Joe Crowell, and Li Zian as Si Crowell.

Immediately after curtain call, Our Town director and Beijing Playhouse executive director Chris Verrill (center with gold tie) presents the money raised to the charity while the audience watches. Box office coordinator Sheishei Locke (with gray clipboard) gives the box office receipts to Liu Linmin (blue blouse holding clear box) and Liang Hongyun (red coat with green box) of Rural Women�s Literacy Project. The cast looks on.

At the reception afterwards, theatre patrons and donors mingle behind Our Town director Chris Verrill and Rural Women�s Literacy Project representatives Liu Linmin and Liang Hongyun. 100% of the intermission bar sales were also donated to charity.